Southern New England Ride

View the route on the East Coast Greenway Map Tool

The Route

This route, part of the East Coast Greenway, is a great way to experience a portion of the in-development 3,000-mile, Maine-to-Florida route, which is coordinated by the nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance. Adventure Cycling is thrilled to partner with the East Coast Greenway to share tools and resources that make safe, short trips on the Greenway even more accessible. Learn more: greenway.org

Visitors to the East Coast Greenway in Connecticut and Rhode Island will enjoy a number of the Greenway’s earliest and most beloved stretches of protected
 paths on this mostly on trail route. From the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail to the Charter Oak, Hop River, and Air Line State Park Trail in Connecticut to the Washington Secondary Trail across Rhode Island and the East Bay Bike Path alongside Narragansett Bay. The two states have some of the highest percentages
of completion among the Greenway’s 13 states — 50 percent for Connecticut, 68 percent for Rhode Island. In both cases, that progress is thanks to leadership from the top along with grassroots advocates: governors over the years who have championed the vision of a long- distance trail and whose transportation and parks departments have made it happen alongside dedicated trail advocates who have made their vision for trails a reality.

For more details than we can fit in this description we’ve created a guide that provides detailed historic information, food recommendations, and more information about local attractions along the route. Learn more and purchase the digital guide here.

Suggested trip length of: 183 miles that can be done on bike or on foot since amenities are close together

Route created by Lisa Watts, author of "Crossing Bridges: What Biking Up the East Coast Taught me about life after 60” and updated by Allison Burson, National Greenway Director of the East Coast Greenway Alliance with suggestions for Providence from Martina Haggerty, Senior Director of Local Innovation at PfB and Liza Burkin

This route crosses the ancestral lands include of the Paugussett, Quinnipiac, Peguot, Mohegan, Mohican, Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc.

Know Before You Go

There are Amtrak stations in New Haven and Providence at either end of the route. Amtrak NE requires bicycle reservations. They also require that you remove your front wheel to load your bike on the train. Camping options are available in Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Suggested Itinerary by Bike Ride north from New Haven, home of Yale University, along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. You’ll continue almost continuously on trail to Avon, CT. Use extreme caution on the gap in trail through Southington and Plainville. Good news - this remaining gap in the trail is funded for construction, so soon there will be continuous trail to the Massachusetts border. Consider staying in hotels in Avon or Simsbury the first day, which would be about a 45 mile day.

Continue on from Avon toward Hartford. Consider staying in a hotel in Hartford or East Hartford, 20 miles from Avon. Or continue on to Natchaug State Forest for camping (60ish miles from Avon) or Pomfret for indoor accommodations (70ish miles from Avon).

From Pomfret, you’ll head to Providence, which is about 50 miles away . There’s plenty of lodging options in Providence, or there’s multiple camping options and hotels in Coventry. Pomfret is 30 miles from Coventry. From Coventry, it’s about 20 miles to Providence.

If you’d like to extend your adventure past Providence you can head 5 miles north through the Blackstone River Corridor on the Blackstone River Bikeway. You can also head south from Providence and take scenic trail along the bay to Bristol, RI for another 15 or so miles on trail. There are some lovely, coastal lodging options in Bristol if you choose to end your trip there.